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Disney Food Tips: Everything You Need to Know About Disney Snacks

We all know how important snacks have become in Disney World and Disneyland.

With some serious innovation on Disney’s part, snacks are no longer just a between meal throwaway, but something that inspires full-blown planning sessions! The day of snacks has dawned in Disney parks!

A lot of this is due to folks wanting to get the best value for their snack credits on the Disney Dining Plan in Walt Disney World. But the newly available variety of snacks also means that it’s much easier to piece together a less expensive mini-meal than it ever has been before.

Note that in mid-2015, Disney updated the definition for a “snack” on the Disney Dining Plan. It now includes many more items, like cups of soup, plain caramel apples, two scoops or less of hand-scooped ice cream (yep, sundaes too!), any menu item listed as a side, and any single-serving, non-alcoholic beverages.

We’ve put together a lot of info about Disney snacks over the past few years, and with so many trips coming up for our readers it’s time to share them all in one place.

Hope this is helpful, and don’t forget to share your best Disney snack tips with us in the comments. I’d appreciate hearing and sharing what you’ve learned!

Best Disney Dining Plan Snack Values

Don’t waste a credit on an inexpensive and/or less-than-stellar treat; indulge in a snack that will be memorable!

Here are our favorite ways to use a snack credit. One of our favorite tips: if you’re lucky enough to be visiting Epcot during the Epcot Food & Wine Festival, use those snack credits for trying international, tapas-sized dishes.

Belgian Waffle with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival

Best Chocolate-Covered Disney Snacks

From a caramel delight at Karamell-Küche, to the iconic Mickey Ice Cream Bar, chocaholics can make the most of their snack credits (or vacation dollars) with these decadent treats.

Chocolate-Covered Sea Salt Caramel at Karamell Kuche in Epcot

Top 5 Disney Take-Home Snacks

Let’s face it. Disney departure day is a complete bummer. And I find it eases the discomfort of heading back to reality if there are some yummy treats traveling with me.

Sadly, there are some snacks that just won’t travel well (Dole Whip, I’m talking to you!); but there are some goodies that you can take home, no problem! The heavenly caramel corn from Karamell Küche will get you through a long drive or boring flight, and even ease your first day back to work.

Best Disney Bedtime Snacks

With the help of all of you, we compiled a list of snacks that many of us are munching on before bedtime at Disney. Popcorn, ice cream bars, and rice krispie treats are all high on the Best Disney Bedtime Snacks list.

Mickey Rice Krispie Treats

Favorite Ice Cold Disney Snacks

When it’s time for a treat with a chill, DFB readers were most impressed with the Dole Whip. For another icy snack, Kaki Gori in Epcot’s Japan pavilion was also recommended.

Disney World Aloha Isle Dole Whip Float

So if you’re visiting during the hot summer months and you need a cold snack on a humid Florida day, go directly to our Favorite Ice Cold Disney Snacks so you can plan ahead.

Goofy’s Candy Company “Create Your Own” Snacks

There’s an extra thrill in eating a snack that was especially created just for YOU! Pick the snack, the dip, the topping, and the drizzle at Goofy’s Candy Company in Downtown Disney. Who knows what you’ll come up with?

The Create Your Own Snack option truly puts you in control of your sweet treat, and these are perfect for sharing.

You’ll see some of your old favorites as well as some snacks that you might have missed in this 150-page book! We also have ideas for snacks that can work as meals, and some of our favorite good-for-you snacks. 🙂

The DFB Mini-Guide to Magic Kingdom Snacks e-Book

Know what you’re getting BEFORE using a precious snack credit or spending your limited vacation dollars.

While at Disneyland, I love the jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzels at the cart in Frontierland (near the pin trader). So yummy! Also, if I want something sweet, a good old fashioned caramel apple is so good. During the holiday season, peppermint stick ice cream with hot fudge from Gibson Girl is the best!

Mmmm, chocolate peanut butter cups the size of a hockey puck! I have 2 in my cupboard right now…I used some on cupcakes, thanks to suggestions I read on this site 😉 I got take home gifts for my daughter’s class, you can buy bags of 6 unicorn swirl lollipops for one Snack credit. Or the crystalized sugar pops are three in a bag. Of course we always use them on the Food and Wine festival booths, that’s a great way to eat around the world without ever taking your money out!

Love the make-your-own rice krispy treat at Goofy’s! My son chose dark chocolate, M&M minis and dark chocolate drizzle. We shared it over two days and it was so good! Not to mention it was a great deal for what we got. I loved the chocolate-caramel pineapple spear at Karamell-Kuche. Always nice to find a treat you can delude yourself into thinking might be healthy. 🙂

I am part of a family of 6 and we like to use 3 or 4 snack credits and get 3 or 4 different snacks and we all share. The snacks are good size and that way we can get a lot of different things to try. So much Disney food, so little time (and stomachs) to try it all.

Anne — Two that spring to mind immediately are Disney popcorn and Dole Whips! Both are vegan and gluten free. Disney popcorn is prepared with a combination of coconut, corn, and canola oil, and are seasoned with kosher salt. Dole Whips are vegan, according to the company’s website. You can read more about Disney Popcorn here. More information about Dole Whips is available in this post.

Since Disney is committed to providing a good experience for all of its guests, you should find that staff are very knowledgeable about ingredients. If you are visiting Animal Kingdom, be sure to stop by the Gardens Kiosk for more in-depth information on food throughout the entire park, plus specialty snacks. Good luck!

On our last day we found ourselves in EPCOT with about 12 snack credits for 4 people. We didnt try to save our snacks per se but we had been trying not to simply waste them. We couldn’t have been in a more perfect place (literally and figuratively). Since we dont drink we decided to snack our way around the world. It was awesome! Paris bakery is my favorite place to spend snack credits. Next time I just might START my trip that way instead of end it.

I was disappointed that most of your gluten free
Snacks are things us celiacs can buy in the
Freezer section. I know it’s possible to make a nice big
Beautiful cupcake with icing on it for us. I came excited to
Have things I couldn’t get elsewhere but felt really
Let down. Georgetown cupcake manages to make these.
What don’t your bakeries have more options for those of
Us who can’t have wheat. The best place seems to be AKL. Everywhere
Else is lacking when it comes to special dietary needs. But we have to look
At lots of beautiful things. Makes us wanna cheat and that ruins our vacation after the fact.

Not sure what still qualifies as a snack on the dining plan at Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie, but i remember getting Jambon Beurre or something like it a few years back as a snack on the plan. IMO, this is one of the best snacks at the park.

Hi AJ! I love reading all your tips! Question, with the new “snack credit” rules I am able to swap 1 quick serivce credit for 3 snacks. Are there certain locations where this can be done? For example, will I be able to swap 1 quick service credit for 3 snacks (done in same transaction) at an outdoor kitchen during the 2016 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival? Or am I only able to use actual “snack credits”? We are going to Disney in May, would love to use any extra quick service credits at the 2016 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival!

Juliet — Thanks for your kind words! As for your question about snack credits — While this should be possible, we know that a lot of readers had trouble actually doing it at the Food and Wine Festival last Fall. However, others were successful. Our advice is to try, preferably early in your trip so you haven’t banked a bunch of credits that you have trouble using. Unfortunately, it seems like these types of things aren’t always consistent.

Thank you Brooke! Just so I am understanding how the quick service meal exchange fro 3 snacks works in general, are there certain places, such as a restaurant listed on the Disney Dining guide? Versus a kiosk or food cart (within any of the parks)?

Juliet — You’re welcome! Normally, you’ll see menus with the Disney Dining Plan icon (the little purple square) beside menu items that are available for a snack credit. You can use snack credits in more than just restaurants; for instance, when I was questioning a cast member last spring about the new practice of exchanging a QS meal for 3 snacks, it was at the Main Street Confectionery. Basically, the only rule that we’ve encountered is that you must use the credits all at once. You can’t use them one at a time or at different locations.